There were only two minutes left before the dungeon closed. The crew began preparing to depart. The anchor was lifted and the engines started.
At the bow of the ship, Joanna was still staring at the rift. Her blonde hair fluttered in the wind, while her eyes radiated her boundless hope. She could not help but tremble as worries haunted her mind.
Klaus still hadn't shown his face. Joanna held out hope that her brother would return, but his men, however, thought that their boss might be gone forever.
Even Justin thought so.
The only thing he could do now was keep Joanna company. He didn't say anything, just stood besides her with sincerity.
In the silence, a soft voice swept into her ears, but she ignored it. The voice came from Sylvia. The red-haired woman had not come alone. Akio, Olivia, and Michael were with her. Empathic faces sat before Joanna, with gazes full of concern. They had become close friends with her during their travels, and they knew how much Joanna loved her older brother.
"Don't be sad, Joanna," Sylvia said gently, trying to comfort her. "Your brother wouldn't like it if he saw you like that."
Joanna turned her head. Her eyes narrowed with resentment. "What did you say? the way you talk like you know that my brother is dead. Take it back, Sylvia!"
The red-haired woman gasped. "Sorry."
She had been just like Joanna, believing that Klaus was on his way back to the ship. But that belief faded with time. In the end, she gave up believing it. Just like the others.
"Can we do something for her?" Michael muttered. He looked at Joanna with pitying gaze.
"Nothing. Let her handle it alone. The more we try to comfort her, the more we make her feel worse," Akio replied.
Olivia wrung her hands. She really wanted to hug the girl and tell her everything would be alright, but her mind said otherwise. She could only look at Joanna's back with an aching heart.
On the other hand, Joanna looked at Justin with hope. As time passed, Justin had become a figure of support and faith for her. She felt that there was a greater power that was bringing them together and orchestrating the course of their lives.
That night, as the stars glittered in the dark sky, they all accompanied the girl in silence. Joanna counted the seconds in her mind. Her hands shook, and fear began to overcome her as the countdown drew close to zero.
Until finally, the rift began to shrink and its light was getting dimmed.
"Klaus!" Joanna shouted at the top of her lungs.
The people accompanying her bowed their heads. It was as if they had expected this to happen. Olivia held Joanna's shoulders, trying to calm her down, but the blonde girl continued to calling her brother's name.
"Fuck! I hate this!" Justin gritted his teeth. Tears began to well up in his eyes.
Sylvia covered her face, hiding the rolling tears. And Michael put his arm around Sylvia while stroking her shoulder, trying to soothe her to reduce her sadness. Akio was not a melancholic person. He just remained silent with his hands clenched into fists.
Suddenly, in the midst of the sad atmosphere, the dimmed light of the rift began to glow brightly. Seeing the irregularity, Joanna stopped calling her brother's name. They were glued to the dimensional rift, following the trail of light that was getting closer to their eyes. As it got closer, a shout echoed through the air and two men jumped out of the rift.
"Goddamnit! Klaus! You almost got us stuck in that shitty dungeon forever!"
"Ah, stop it. The important thing is that we made it out. Like I said, everything will be fine."
"I swear I won't follow your shit anymore."
Lying on the deck, Klaus and Noah argued. Neither of them realized that people were watching them with their jaws dropped. Even some of the crew also looked surprised as they saw two people they thought were dead make it out of the dungeon at the last second.
"Klaus!"
Joanna shouted with joy and ran over to her older brother. She hugged Klaus tightly, while he was only slightly surprised by his sister's sudden action.
Meanwhile, Justin and the others watched the moment with a relieved smile. They hadn't expected Klaus to return.
"How could I doubt him. I really don't deserve to be guild master," Justin muttered.
"Don't say that. No one expected him to return. Those two have a very strong family bond. We're not like his sister." Akio tried to correct Justin.
"But still. We should be more like Joanna," Sylvia chimed in. "We're the most mature and reliable of him. But we're the ones who let him down."
"We didn't let him down," Michael replied. "We just lack faith."
Olivia didn't comment. She just smiled, seeing Olivia and Klaus together.
As subordinates who always had Klaus' trust, they didn't put enough trust in him. They were ashamed of themselves. They could not help but bow their heads, hiding their faces from Klaus.I think you should take a look at
They let the blonde-haired girl vent her excitement while releasing the worries in her mind.
"Klaus! Why did you just show your face? You're driving me crazy! You should have come out as soon as you got the notification! And don't split up from the group. You know, you worry us a lot." Jonna scolded Klaus. Her behavior was just like Anna's.
Klaus laughed. "Sorry. Noah and I needed to get some things done. And we got lost in the middle of it." He winked at his cousin. "Right, Noah?"
Noah sighed. "Yeah. We got lost." He looked away.
However, his answer did not satisfy Joanna. She was suspicious of the "things" that Klaus and Noah were working on while still in the dungeon. She asked Klaus, but he didn't tell her. The blonde girl kept pressing him. But still, his mouth was tightly closed. And then, the quarrels were inevitable.
In the middle of their argument, a man in a gray robe walked over to them.
"Ah, thank goodness. You two made it out of the dungeon in time! I ran straight here when I heard the commotion on the deck. I'm really relieved to see you safe." Hugo said with a grin on his face.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to worry you," Klaus replied.
The man didn't just come to ask how they were.
"By the way, what were you guys doing when we were fighting the Wyrm, and trying to resuscitate Vincent?"
Noah and Klaus glanced at each other. Then, Klaus said, "Nothing. We just got lost."
Hugo nodded his head. "Ah, I see."
Of course, Hugo didn't believe him. It was impossible for someone like Klaus, an 18-year-old boy who led a large company, to act that carelessly. He could tell something was fishy about him. His intuition told him it had to do with the alpha. But Klaus was a F-Class. There was no way he could defeat an alpha even if Noah helped him.
In the end, Hugo got no clues.
"Argh! My body hurts like hell. Sorry, but I need to put my butt on." Noah sighed with annoyance.
Hugo opened his eyes wide. "Ah, that's right. Sorry, you guys must have been through a lot the last few days. Get some rest."
"Alright, I'll leave first then."
Before leaving, Noah gave Klaus a look, sending him a signal. And Klaus nodded his head. Noah made excuses for them to avoid Hugo's suspicions.
Yeah, they were planning something.
Klaus and Joanna approached their friends who were waiting at the edge of the deck. Smiling faces greeted Klaus with joy.
"Yo, bro! I thought you weren't going to make it!" Justin ran over to Klaus, trying to hug him. But Klaus immediately hit Justin before this guy touch him. "Aw! What are you doing!?"
Joanna and the others laughed.
"I won't forgive you if you don't survive, Klaus. I still owe you a favor." Olivia smiled widely as she said it.
"Boss, you're like a cat, with nine lives. How can you two survive with monsters in there?" The question escaped Akio's mouth.
"That's doesn't matter. What's important is that our boss is safe." Michael answered immediately.
"Well, okay then," Akio replied.
Seeing how his men were worried about him, Klaus raised his eyebrows. He felt a warmth in his chest. The same warmth he felt when he met Steve and Anna back home. It was strange to feel this way about them. But he liked it.
Klaus smiled. "Thank you for waiting for me."
Then, his eyes fell on the red-haired woman standing at the back. She hasn't said anything since Klaus arrived. She looked at Klaus with a sincere smile.
"Sylvia, are you all right?" asked Klaus.
She nodded. "Yes, I am."
Klaus smiled. "Good to hear it."
He did not know this, but Sylvia felt vibes when she saw Klaus.
